Monsanto Company
St. Louis, Missouri

Agriculture

Monsanto Company supports the arts as part of its mission to improve the quality of life of the communities in which its employees live and work. The company believes the arts are essential to create a rich, vibrant community, especially in rural areas throughout the Midwest known as seed sites, where it conducts research and produces seeds.

In 1999 Monsanto collaborated with Metro Theater Company, St. Louis, MO, to create the Rural Residency Program-a touring theater program that benefits the arts, education, business, and the community by:

Offering children living in rural communities and their parents opportunities to experience live theater performances-often for the first time. Metro Theater Company, supported by a major grant from Monsanto, established a one-week residency in 20 rural communities in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota and Nebraska that included an array of activities tailored to address each community's needs. Among these activities were in-school and public performances presented in community venues, plus classroom workshops with members of Metro Theater Company, and opportunities for high school students to develop leadership skills and self-expression through theater arts.

Providing special workshops for teachers to help them develop ways to incorporate the arts into the curriculum and to develop public programs featuring the arts in community centers and auditoriums.

Encouraging Monsanto regional managers and local seed site plant managers to become involved with the project by suggesting locations, conducting advance visits, hosting events and serving as a liaison among the schools, community agencies and Metro Theater Company to help tailor the program for each community.

Nominated by Metro Theater Company, St. Louis, MO.

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